Sheringham’s £1.25m fire station is leaking - again

A £1.25m fire station that was hailed as “a first for Norfolk” is shrouded in scaffolding after springing a leak for the second time in a few months.

The Cromer Road facility was pioneering when it officially opened on January 26 last year, housing fire, ambulance and police staff in a single building for the first time.

But, despite the significant cost, paid for by Tesco as part of the deal to develop a supermarket on the other side of the road, it is currently undergoing repair.

The building, which was constructed by RG Carter, replaced the previous fire station, built in 1963, which will be demolished along with the Lockerbie flats and old community centre to make way for a Tesco store.

A Norfolk Fire and Rescue Service spokesman said the repair work would not be paid for by the service, which meant Norfolk’s taxpayers would not foot the bill.

He said the first leak happened during “exceptionally heavy rain” in October.

Roy Harold, deputy chief fire officer, said: “We are experiencing some sporadic problems with leaking at Sheringham Fire Station and remedial work is currently taking place to fix this.

“Obviously it is not ideal but our contractors are working to solve the problem. I would like to reassure people the problem is not affecting our response to emergency incidents.”

He added: “In any capital project, snagging such as this is not unusual. What’s happened is that the damp-proof membrane, which is supposed to bond into the brickwork, has failed in one area and we are having it replaced.”